Strategies from grooming two top rookie agency leaders - Jaden Wang

By AAN team | 16 Oct 2019

Video edited by Azri Bahari

Grooming a top rookie agency leader in a company once is tough enough for most people. To do it twice in a leading insurer? That would really demonstrate and validate the success of the organisation's system. Jaden Wang, Co-Founder of Assets Prestige Alliance, a group of agency units of Prudential Assurance Company Singapore, is on track to do just that. Here's what you can learn from his recruitment and selection strategy.

This year, one of his group’s manager is in the running and leading in the company’s Rookie Agency of the Year category. This is the second time one of his group’s manager is Number 1 at Rookie Agency Level. This further validates the system that his organisation has in place which is able to consistently groom top leaders.

“At Assets Prestige Alliance – Jaden Wang Group, we focus on the quality of our financial consultants, rather than quantity. Not anyone can fit into the team. We groom only individuals with the right value, right mindset and a strong ‘why’,” he said.

Casting your net

In a simple analogy, Jaden says recruitment and selection is “like fishing.” He explains, “We throw different nets at different areas and you catch different types of fishes.”

Warm: One of the sources for recruitment comes from warm leads - friends whom you’ve known for years, and have built a good rapport with you. These warm leads tend to have mutual feelings and understanding when they choose to join you.

Patience: As a rookie who did roadshows and street canvassing, Jaden had plenty of canvassing leads. He shares that he keeps track of everyone he meets and includes a remark beside the names. For students who may not have the financial means to afford any insurance and savings, he would keep in touch and contact them down the years where he would also attempt to recruit them after their graduation.

Personal observation: Potential candidates are everywhere. When you are out shopping or attending non-industry courses. When you observe that someone may have what it takes to succeed in this career, engage them and get to know them better.

Staff: Even when hiring administrative staff, he is always on the lookout for candidates with similar qualities as his FC team. It’s not all just administrative work that Jaden considers for the hire. He takes into consideration the personality and whether the staff would be able to fit in culturally. Because the truth is, everyone would be spending a lot of time with each other, and it’s important to feel at ease with the team.

Once immersed in the office’s culture and seeing the growth and success of new FCs, there’s also a chance that the admin staff may develop an interest in the FC role and opt to convert into one.

Selection criteria

First impression: Selecting candidates who are pleasant and comfortable to be around with is an important factor as a lot of time would be spent on coaching and mentoring them
Applying the DOPE Test (D.ove , O.wl , P.eacock, E.agle personality test): Jaden advises that each leader would have to figure out which of these personality traits would best perform under their coaching and leadership. He doesn’t believe in “one-size-fits-all”.
Conversation: Articulation is important in the industry. Especially when insurance policies may be complex in nature, the consultant has the duty to simplify and verbalise the concepts into layman terms in order to ensure the customers understand them.

Out of the three criteria, he looks for a candidate that can fulfil at least two. For a candidate who doesn’t meet the selection criteria you have set, he said it is better off for the candidate to join another manager since there isn’t a good fit, and a lot of time may end up be wasted for both parties.

Mentoring tips

Other than conducting monthly meetings where topics cover sales ideas, technical knowledge and even motivational meetings, Jaden creates opportunity outside of work spaces.

He mentions that organising sports activities or other bonding activities can help ignite positive influence and pass on positive vibes and habits. These informal sessions need not even be about work.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. So he sees it as an opportunity for new FCs to mix with more senior and successful FCs who have reached a certain level of success to learn from them their mindset and positive habits.

Building each other up through social media

Social media is a platform that must be utilised.

Jaden’s group makes it a point to tag everyone in their social media posts.

Tagging each other serves multiple purposes:

It highlights the culture and bond of the group especially if it’s a group shot
Achievement and awards photos would spill over to their clients’ newsfeed, thus promoting success stories of their peers
Potential candidates who are looking to join your agency might be more attracted to join when they see how well the group is doing

Continuous learning regardless of age or success

In a rapidly changing industry like the finance and insurance industry, it is vital that practitioners do not stop learning.

Other than reading and agency and company trainings, he encourages his FCs to go for practitioners’ sharing - other successful FC and leaders they can learn from.

To learn the best practices and ideas beyond just those in the agency and company to be exposed beyond their natural circle of influence.

This is an excerpt of Jaden’s sharing on “Setting the RIGHT foundation in Agency Management” at Financial Services Managers Association’s “FSMA Power Talk”.

Assets Prestige Alliance (APA) is a group of agency units of Prudential Assurance Company Singapore.